Beach Bits:
• In Chicago 2009 Kessy and Ross became just the sixth team worldwide to surpass the $1 million mark in career earnings as a partnership.
• From October 2008 through the 2010 Moscow Grand Slam, Kessy and Ross played for a medal in 17 of their 20 FIVB events (winning seven golds, six silvers, three bronzes in that span).
• Kessy surpassed $1 million in career earnings in Gstaad in 2010, becoming the eighth woman (and sixth American) to do so.
• On the AVP, Kessy, and Ross lost their first nine title matches but ended by winning nine straight before the 2013 St. Petersburg championship (which was never played).
• Kessy has been in at least one AVP championship match each season since 2004 (she did not play in AVP in 2011 and she missed 2014 due to pregnancy).
• Entering the 2016 season, in her 45 AVP tournaments since the start of 2008, Kessy has won 15 times, placed second 12 times, and finished third 13 times (just five finishes eliminated before the semifinals).
2015: Kessy formed a partnership with Emily Day, and they advanced to the championship match in each of their first two AVP events, winning once. On the year, they played in four semifinals in seven tournaments. Kessy was fourth on the Tour in aces per set (.90), seventh in hitting percentage (.440) and 10th in kills per set (6.54). Kessy and Day played in 11 FIVB events, with a best of fifth.
2014: Did not compete as she gave birth to her first daughter during the summer.
2013: Kessy and Ross played in five AVP tournaments, advancing to the semifinals each time. They won twice, and in their last AVP event together advanced to the title match in St. Petersburg, Fla., but it was never played due to weather. Kessy played the final AVP event of the year with Rachel Scott. Kessy and Ross played seven FIVB tournaments together, with two semifinals and a best of second place. Kessy ended the international season playing one event with Brooke Sweat and one with Whitney Pavlik, winning a bronze medal.
2012: In the first seven FIVB events, the duo had a best of third once. In the 2012 London Olympics, Kessy and Ross won a silver medal. The pair ended the season with a win in Thailand and again finished fourth in terms of season points. In three domestic events on two different tours, they won all three times.
2011: In the FIVB season opener in Brasilia, Kessy and Ross overcame a first-round loss to win a bronze medal, while in Shanghai the duo rebounded from a second-round loss to win a silver medal. They played in the test event in London in preparation for the 2012 Olympics, placing second. In the World Championships in Rome, Kessy and Ross placed fifth. For the year, the duo advanced to the semifinals in 7 of their 14 events, winning a medal each time including gold in the Stavanger Grand Slam. Kessy and Ross ended as the fourth-ranked team on the FIVB Tour. Domestically, they played in four events on three different tours, winning twice.